Bound By Dusk
by Lunaurum
Summary: He never saw himself as a hero. No, he was as selfish as they came. When the twilight invaded his world, it wasn't some higher calling that sent him running to fight. He cared nothing of the prophecies of goddesses or a world in dire need of a warrior. He fought for his world, his family. The spirits mistook the look in his eyes for courage. It was rage.
1. A Guiding Hand Northward

Through the still air that hung sleepily over Faron Spring cut a sharp yell, followed immediately by someone's quiet grunt. Expertly honed wood clashed violently against its equal, but the owners of the practice swords couldn't be more different.

One was a man, thirty years old and sharp in mind and body. His face was broad, and his hands had the callouses of a blacksmith. The dirt of one too, which his wife often tiredly teased him about. He was well learned in the ways of combat through experience, but his soul was weary because of it. Rusl was his name, and he was the sole protector of his village. The Ordonian carefully watched the moves of his pupil, who was seventeen years old and startlingly strong. Link had the unmistakable slender features and pointed ears of a Hyrulian, and was the only one living in the village now. Rusl was glad that the boy had never been ostracized for his unique looks, but he also felt constant concern for his tendency to distance himself from the rest of the village.

When vibrantly blue eyes flashed with confidence, Rusl knew to prepare for a vertical swing from Link.

Sure enough, the teenager shouted as he swiftly rose his wooden sword and brought it down only for it to cut about an inch into the earth. The man had dodged that blow. Rusl aimed a jab at the young blond, but Link rose his sword in just time to push his weapon away and counterattack with a horizontal swipe, and the blacksmith barely dodged it.

A hearty laugh left Rusl, and he sheathed the sword that he had crafted himself out of Faron Oakwood.

"That's enough for today my boy", he announced, and laughed again when Link shoved out a hard breath of air and sent a look of almost fiery disappointment his way.

"Already? It's still light out", Link objected, and Rusl made use of his fatherly sternness then.

"Oh, come now. It's the twilight hour", he scolded, though there was hardly even a flicker of irritation in his voice. "Take a drink from the spring and cool off."

Rusl caught the challenging huff from the young Hyrulian but said nothing about it since he saw him sheathe the wooden sword and crouch down at the edge of the crystal-clear spring. He himself washed his hands in the spring before lifting a small amount of the water. He murmured a quiet prayer of thanks to the lake spirit Faron, unlike Link who eagerly splashed his face and sighed in relief without a single word spoken.

"You're too expressive you know", the blacksmith decided to share after a moment. Link slid his half damp locks back and blinked quizzically, his demeanor a touch tamer now that he had been given time to relax from their sparring.

"When you fight", Rusl explained, "You're far too expressive. And beyond that, you're giving your enemy cues by shouting so much."

He noticed a flash of irritation in Link's eyes before his expression turned to one of embarrassment. This was a topic that had been broached before.

"I can't help it", the blue-eyed boy muttered, and he sounded unhappy with himself. "I'm focusing so much on the battle, I forget."

Rusl clapped Link on the back and offered one of his warm smiles to ease the boy's mind. He knew that the Hyrulian was trying very hard to become a passable swordsman, unaware that he was already quite good for his age.

"You will learn, Link. Don't think too harshly on that."

Link turned his head to the wide but gentle waterfall some feet away from them and gave a noncommittal noise in response, one that Rusl read as perhaps discontent. He could never be sure with those quiet sounds, and when worry began to build up in his heart he had to remind himself that Link was not his son, no matter the amount of care he and his wife, Uli, had provided for him after the death of Link's father. The memory of his deceased friend lengthened the silence between the two villagers until the teenager finally broke it.

"Hey Rusl", Link spoke up, voice quiet and eyes fixed on the waterfall. The swordsman turned his gaze away from the sky and settled on the boy.

"Yes?"

There was another silence among them, and he knew that Link was gathering the courage to speak whatever it was that was on his mind. The golden-haired child never had liked to leave his sentences unfinished.

"Do you think my dad would be happy with where I'm at right now?"

Rusl was startled by that sentence and at a loss at first on how to respond, but he saw Link's shoulders tense a little before he moved to slide some healthy blades of grass through his long fingers and quickly add, "With the sword fighting."

The older blond moved to smooth out the hairs on one side of his wide mustache as he thought carefully on how to answer Link's question. It had been five years since the bulblins attacked Ordon Village, since the man had died defending it at the age Rusl was now. Link and the other children had been spared the true horrors of that night because they had been hidden safely away in the mayor's home, but there had been no stopping the poor boy from seeing his father being sent off in the funeral vessel down the river that cut through the village.

"Leven was…"

Rusl saw Link straighten his posture and lock his fiercely attentive, sky blue eyes with him.

"Link, you are in many ways very much like your father. He was brave, and kind… About as stubborn as an Ordonian goat."

That got a small smile out of the teenager, who was more than familiar with the temperament of those goats.

"And he was an outstanding swordsman. Your father would be very proud to see the young man you've become."

Rusl's eyes stayed matched with Link's for a minute, the young blond visibly processing those words until he came to some sort of conclusion that must have satisfied him, because Link lifted his head to the dusk lit sky and eased the tension between his eyebrows.

"Thanks, Rusl", the Hyrulian muttered quietly, a slighter wider smile forming.

The two of them enjoyed a pause between them while a breeze passed through the air like the day's long, drawn out yawn. Then, clearing his throat and accidentally startling the boy that had fallen into a moment of deep thought, the blacksmith spoke again.

"I have a favor to ask of you, Link."

Link gave another of his questioning blinks, and Rusl continued.

"I was supposed to deliver something to the royal family the day after tomorrow. It was a task set to me by the mayor, but…"

Rusl waited on his words, at first uncertain if it was right for him to ask Link to take on the dangers that came with traveling the still halfway wild fields of Hyrule. But he had seen for himself how skilled Link was now, and with the boy approaching adulthood it was time Link began thinking of the idea of seeing what lay beyond their humble village.

"…Will you go in my stead?"

The Hyrulian's bright eyes widened in surprise.

"Sure", Link answered, "But why?"

Rusl struggled again to find a proper explanation but gave a friendly smile when he had.

"You have never been to Hyrule, right? You should look upon that land and the great Castle Town with your own eyes. Aside from that, Uli is due soon…"

Link gave Rusl a sharp nod.

"I understand. You want to be there", the teenager said knowingly, and the man dipped his head in agreement.

"Thank you, Link."

"It's no problem," the young blond smiled more openly before he stretched out his legs, and Rusl heard the vaguely cringeworthy cracking noise of knee caps settling into a new position after being the same way for a little long. Upon checking the dimmer lighting around them, the Ordonian determined it was time to go.

"It is getting late. We should head back to the village", Rusl said as he stood, and he experienced many more of those creaks and pops than Link had. "I will talk to the mayor about this matter."

From there, the swordsman and his pupil walked the way across the long bridge and to the edge of Ordon village, where Uli and Rusl's son both waited patiently for them. The blacksmith family said their goodnights to Link, and while Rusl walked his way to a small, comfortable home, Link went back to an empty house.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** This fanfic is an attempt to take what's good from the Legend of Zelda and make it better by making it realistic. No pairing, will be delving into war issues, and some creative liberties are going to be taken with things (as you can see with Leven). A big goal in this is to give the LoZ cultures more… culture. I hope you enjoy the read! Also, I had to give Link's dad a name, and since the name Link is an English name meaning "from the bank", I decided on Leven because it is a Gaelic name meaning "elm river".


	2. A Friendly Reminder

After a long day of securing provisions and making sure that Epona was in good health for the trip to the royal city, Link's body was finally tired enough that the thought of his quilt covered bed had him sighing in relief already. The young man had just left Rusl's home after an incredible homecooked stew and comfortably quiet conversation with the blacksmith's family. Colin had been working on a fishing rod for a while and was nearly done with it— the nine-year-old had gotten the most horrified look on his face when he let that slip, because it was apparently supposed to be a birthday gift for the Hyrulian when he turned eighteen in only a few weeks. The child had gotten to breathe out his worry quickly though, because his mother had quickly suggested the idea of taking the gift with him. The teenager felt he didn't need to take the fishing rod with him for food when he had enough bread and dried meats to last him to Castle Town and back, but he hadn't been about to say that in front of Colin when he looked so excited to give it to him, so he happily accepted.

Link wasn't nearly as worried about the trip as he knew Rusl was. He knew the dangers that lay outside Ordon village, and the swordsman and the mayor had both drilled that into his head. Several times. But he was getting better with his sword training, and he was a damned good shot when it came to using his hunting bow. Even if he came across a foe that he couldn't handle, he still had Epona to get him out of there. Ilia's father and Rusl were just worrying too much, as usual.

When at last the young Hyrulian had gotten to his quiet home, an old house nestled within the trunk of a massive tree, he breathed out a sigh and looked to Epona. His inherited horse was out of her stable right now and doing her rider a favor by trimming his property. She was searching out the best pieces of grass and chomping her teeth over them, wiggling her lips around in that funny way horses did when they ate. Epona was a gorgeous horse, huge because her father had been bred as a war stallion, and at a good riding age at just about nine years old.

"Hey there, girl", Link murmured as he walked closer to admire her silver bay coloration, running his rough hand across her powerful shoulder and coming up with some short hairs that had come loose from her coat. The pretty white star on her face and her socked feet were duller than they should have been, and the young man could see a few tangles in her mane. She needed a good pampering before he left the village with her.

Epona let out a quiet nicker and lifted her head to nudge the goat herder for attention, making her owner chuckle. He loved his horse.

When Link saw the mare swivel her ears toward the direction of the village, he turned to investigate what Epona had noticed and caught sight of a girl. She was approaching seventeen and looking her age, though at times she acted older. Her dark blonde hair was short, and her green eyes looked at the world with a sharp curiosity that Link could relate to.

"Oh, you're here", his childhood friend blinked, and Link couldn't help but grin at the brush in her hand.

"What, come to steal my horse again?", he teased.

Ilia responded with stunned stammering before she collected herself, and it was damn priceless to Link. Usually he was the one struggling for a comeback.

"Well I _was_ going to wash her for you", the girl replied, tossing a playful smile at the Hyrulian.

"So you _were_ stealing her!"

"Oh shut up!"

Ilia put her hands on her hips disapprovingly, as if she were about to scold Link, but when she stuck her tongue out at him it became clear she hadn't taken the jest too seriously. Epona let out a snort and flicked her tail before disregarding the girl and continuing her grazing, and Ilia's green eyes watched her admiringly. It was a shame that the village was so poor that the mayor's daughter couldn't afford a horse, but Link knew that it would take more than just five years after the bulblin attack for Ordon Village to be able to afford such luxuries again.

"Actually… It was supposed to be a surprise", Link's friend said after the gentle silence between them. The young man blinked and shifted his weight onto his left foot to show her that he was listening, and she talked on.

"Epona needs to be in top shape for your trip. You won't be back for a week, right?"

Link heard the tone of concern in her voice, and for the sake of his friend he resisted a groan of exasperation. Why was everyone so worried about this little journey?

"Give or take", he answered in an easy voice, "It depends on the weather and if I'll actually stay for Princess Zelda's coronation or not."

"You should", Ilia encouraged, her expression brightening. "Why would you want to miss out on something like that? I hear Castle Town's festivals are so wonderful. That day's probably going to be the party of a lifetime."

Despite the touch of envy in Ilia's voice, Link couldn't bring himself to care enough about the coronation of some royalty that had never bothered to send any aid to their village. They had been in a time of peace ever since the Gerudo people had been defeated nine years ago. All that was left now as a main threat was the bulblin tribe, and the late king had done nothing about it. The young Hyrulian just didn't understand. Why not take out the beasts already? Link shrugged, pulling himself out of his thoughts quick enough that Ilia didn't get a chance to ask him about his silence, and he quietly prompted Epona to walk with him towards Ordon Spring.

"I'll be seeing Princess Zelda anyway when I take the sword and shield to her", Link reminded his friend, and then gave a playful smile to further hide what had been on his mind.

"Besides, don't you want Epona back as quick as possible?"

Ilia huffed, cocking her head slightly and tossing another of her halfway scolding looks at him.

"As much as I love her, it's not the horse I want home safely."

Her look softened, and a quiet that was uncomfortable but not quite tense ensued. It wasn't until they reached the little spring, hidden away by a curved hill and some dense trees, that the short Ordonian spoke up.

"Link, can you promise me something?"

"Hm?"

Some tiny lines of stress appeared on Ilia's pale face, and Link just wanted to rub it away with his hand and toss her in the healing waters next to them so she'd lighten up.

"No matter what happens on your journey, don't try to do anything… Out of your league", she muttered.

The troubled, doubting look in her eyes irritated Link to no end.

"Ilia, I'll be fine", he responded, and he realized that it came out as more of a growl than he'd intended it to. It was just so irritating that everyone around him didn't seem to trust in his ability to take care of himself. He'd already been doing it for a few years now, hadn't he? Epona snorted in response to his anger, lifting her head and pointing her ears towards them, and Link let out a slow, slightly harsh breath. Sometimes his horse seemed bothered by Ilia, probably because Link was occasionally irritated by the Ordonian, and he didn't want to cause anything bad to happen between the two.

"But… I'll be careful."

He felt guilty for snapping at his friend, but she luckily didn't look hurt by it.

"You promise?", Ilia asked, hope obvious in her eyes.

She wouldn't get to hear Link's response, because off in the distance was the carrying voice of Fado.

"Heyyy! Link! You there?"

The Hyrulian couldn't hold back a groan this time. He had just been about to start washing Epona off, what did the rancher want?

* * *

Apparently, Fado couldn't control his goats.

The animals around the village had been acting rather skittish lately, even Sera's laidback cat, but it was a pain in the back that the man couldn't get a handle on his own goats. He understood that Fado was fairly young to be in charge of the ranch, but there was a point that one had to wonder if the herder was just plain incompetent.

It didn't take Link long at all to get the goats into the barn. What took time was reinforcing the front gate for the freckled young man. The goats had done a number on it with their bizarre horns, but in Link's opinion it shouldn't have even gotten to that point.

"You should get a herding dog already", the blond grumbled before standing himself straight. His eyes closed while he drew his brows down in irritation, and he rolled his sore shoulders one at a time, the opposite hand bracing it both times.

"Yeah, I know", Fado answered in a slightly slow voice, a calloused hand rubbing the back of his thick neck. The rancher was the largest of the villagers aside from the mayor, and considering his age made it all the most startling whenever Link thought about his stature.

"I mean it, Fado", Link said sharply, and he noticed the rancher jump a little as he opened his eyes and glared at him through the dark. "Those goats could hurt someone."

"I know… I'll get a dog when I got the money, I swear."

Link didn't do much more than grunt his approval because he was so ready to climb up into his bed and sleep, and even getting up onto Epona took a bit more effort than he'd have hoped.

"Hey", Fado spoke up, and Link nodded in questioning.

"What do you s'pose is causin' the animals to be actin' so spooked?"

"Mm… Probably the bulbins and bokoblins", Link determined, and when he saw Fado stiffened he added, "But Rusl said they're sticking to Faron Woods."

"Oh, alright. You be-"

"Careful?", Link finished for Fado. His eyes narrowed, and he lifted the reins in his hands.

"I get it."

With a very gruff goodnight, the Hyrulian signaled Epona to take him home.

Home, where it was a little lonely but comfortably quiet, and there were no rules but the ones he laid out for himself.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** After battling my first case of writer's block I managed to pop this chapter out. I'm going to try and update the story every or every other day, but I'll put on my profile if I run into delays. Up next, the little rascals of Ordon!


	3. Just In Time

Link didn't wake from dawn's light as he had planned to. Instead it was the high-pitched shouting of children that pulled him out of some uneasy dream about darkness and glowing red eyes. The Hyrulian let out a harsh, angry noise that was as close to a growl as a person could make and pulled his face out of his worn pillow. Link was immediately assaulted by the harsh rays of mid-morning, and he pulled back at the light coming through his open window and shut his eyes forcefully. Damn sunlight. It wasn't supposed to be so ungodly glaring yet.

Wait.

Blue eyes snapped open, wide and startled, and he sat up to look out his window at the sun's position. No good, ten thirty! He should have had Epona resting somewhere in Hyrule Fields by now!

"Hey! Link!", called the bold voice of a kid, and he looked down to see Talo putting his fists on his hips in a confident pose that demanded attention. Behind him stood two other kids of the village, preteen Beth and little four-year-old Malo.

"Get outta bed already!"

"Er- Yeah! I'm coming down!", the teenager called back quickly, and he pulled the red and brown cloth curtain down over the window, hands hastily fastening it to the hooks in the wall so that wind wouldn't disturb it. With how hot the summer day was, Link almost wanted to leave it open, but last time he did that a couple of squirrels had jumped in and trashed a few of his things while he was away from his house. Link slipped into his work clothes and sandals faster than Talo ran from his mother when she brandished a broom, and in no time he was out the front door and rushing down the ladder steps.

As usual, the children of Ordon gravitated to the one of only two teenagers of the village that usually let them have the most fun, even the chubby cheeked Malo stumbling over and staring up at Link with big green eyes. Agh, damn it. The kid was on his foot, and he was still too unbalanced to be able to shake him off like he could do with the boy's older brother.

"Oh! Link, Link! Didja hear?", Talo spoke up, and he didn't wait at all for a response, "The shop's got a slingshot! A _slingshot!_ "

Link made a noise while trying hard to look like he was interested.

"That's cool, Talo. Real cool", in that voice he used with the kids when he was trying to humor them. His words were rushed though, and he glanced often at the path to the village.

"Want it", Malo spoke up quietly but commandingly, and he tugged at Link's pants.

"Yeah? How much is it?", Link asked as he picked the short child up and deposited him next to his brother.

"It costs thirty rupees", Beth answered with a smile, holding up three fingers as she talked. Thirty wasn't a bad price considering Sera's goods were usually good quality, and it was affordable for Link. Not for a kid though.

"Maybe I'll buy it for you and Malo", the Hyrulian replied. He started walking quickly off towards the village and tacked on a pointed, "If you're good while I'm gone." Even as he turned away, he could tell that the ten-year-old was ecstatic to hear that.

"Yeah! I'll be the best _ever!_ ", Talo shouted.

* * *

"Oh my, Link! Your clothes are soaked, what-? Is that my basket?"

The Hyrulian offered a big smile to Uli despite the stress he'd just gone through to rescue the baby basket from the current of the village's river. Luckily, he had reached the thing before the current had gotten too strong, but fighting it back to the bank at Sera's house had been an effort.

Uli gave something of an amused, grateful look to Link and put a hand at her back for some extra support.

"My thanks to you. If it had been lost…"

"I'm sure Pergie has hers still", Link offered to soothe Uli's stress, and the woman seemed thankful to hear that there would have still be a basket for her baby anyway if— _when_ — it arrived.

"Would you follow me to the house with that? Colin has finished your present", Uli murmured.

Link held back an anxious noise because the pregnant woman had to walk so slowly, and he was losing so much precious daylight already.

"Yeah, of course. Uh, Uli? Where's Rusl? I'm running late..."

Uli turned her head with a concerned look that had Link immediately feeling guilty for telling her that. She must have forgotten he had been meant to ride out at first light.

"My husband left for the spring just a few moments ago. I fear you may have just missed him."

Link withheld his irritated sigh.

What luck he had.

* * *

Just like the mayor, Link saw that Rusl was fuming with anger, an obvious air of anxiety surrounding the blacksmith as well.

"Boy!", he shouted sternly from in front of the ladder leading to the house, and the young blond went stiff, as did Talo at the very edge of Link's property. He, Malo and Beth were lingering next to the path that led to Ordon Spring, a couple of yards away from the older villagers. One step further, and they would all be in trouble for straying too far from the safety of the village. Link didn't notice the children though. All he knew was that Rusl looked furious as he held onto the carefully cloth-wrapped coronation gifts, and that was extremely rare.

"What have you been doing this whole time? Swimming?"

The teenager flinched a little, guilt subtly flicking at his heart. He hadn't meant to sleep so late, and if it hadn't have been for Fado he likely would have gotten to bed at the time he had meant to.

"I was-"

"By the Goddesses, if you are not going to take this journey seriously-"

"I am!", Link retorted as he heard Talo shouting some yards away about a monkey. He straightened, but still wasn't as tall as the stern blacksmith.

"What delays you?", Rusl asked in a distinctly disapproving tone that made Link want to take his wooden sword and start whacking the old man with it. Who did Rusl think he was scolding him?

"Now? You!"

Rusl turned his head to the sky and breathed out a long, heavy sigh that took almost all signs of irritation with it. Link still didn't understand how the swordsman could let go of his anger so easily. He tried to, but sometimes a deep breath simply didn't do it for the young man.

"Epona is swift, there is still time", the mustached man offered to stop the argument. Link crossed his arms, but he bit back on his angry thoughts and let the man keep talking.

"Now then, I-"

The blond head of a child coming close to them drew Link's eyes, and he immediately tried to soften his still frustrated look. He could recognize that scrawny, skittish boy anywhere

"Dad?", Colin spoke up in a nervous, so quiet voice.

"Not now, son", Rusl spoke, glancing once at the nine-year-old before locking his eyes with the young Hyrulian again, "Go play with the other children."

"Um, but… They…"

Quiet, Link uncrossed his arms and Rusl looked back to Colin with a fatherly worry in his eyes. The teenager let his own concern show for the little boy. Had the other kids been picking on him again?

"What is it, my boy?", Link heard the blacksmith ask.

Large, sapphire eyes rose from a short patch of grass to each of the sword wielders' faces.

Colin swallowed, as if he feared the consequences of what he was about to say.

"They're gone."

In the distance, Talo shrieked.

* * *

Even riding so fast that Link could hear only the wind rushing past his pointed ears, he still felt as if Epona were running through mud. His body stayed leaned forward in his silent signal for his horse to go as fast as she could, and he felt the equine's muscles working hard to fly them across the bridge separating Ordon from the Faron Providence.

Talo was in trouble.

One of the kids could be seriously hurt and it was all his fault. If he had left on time, then the children's parents wouldn't have let them linger at the edge of the village. The adults were only lenient with the rules of wandering when Link or Ilia were around to watch them, and only Beth and Colin liked to play with Ilia. Of course it would be Talo, who had a wild streak and a far-too-laidback father, that got himself in danger.

Rusl too was headed fast towards that scream, Link knew, but the blacksmith was on foot because the teenager had mounted Epona and rode off before Rusl could say anything otherwise. It was up to him to save the child. The Hyrulian's eyes stung with the air assaulting his face, but still he encouraged the silver bay onward.

"Faster, Epona!"

Very quickly, Link's horse reached the entrance to Faron Woods and halted. The thick, wooden gate that had always closed off the dark cave with an iron lock was left suspiciously open. Just behind the gate, he saw a deku baba lying on the ground with a damaged stem and a gash along the top of its blue jaws— he couldn't think of a better description of the vicious looking appendages— a sick, purplish fluid of some kind flowing slowly out of the wound. It was utterly still, so the blond nudged Epona on. He swore he could see some light flickering deep inside the nameless cave.

But Epona snorted with her head lifted high and both her ears tilted forward. There was danger close. The horse moved her white socked legs cautiously onward, and Link moved his left hand slowly to the sword at his back.

It was when a harsher snort left Epona with her stomping a front leg that it happened.

The deku baba lunged up, snapping its sticky jaws at the horse, and Link had to brace himself when the silver bay picked up both her front legs to avoid it. One of her hoofs came down hard on the plant, squashing it flat. The Hyrulian let out a short breath of relief and guided Epona some back with a slow pull of the reins, and he gave her a brief, reassuring pat before slipping off her saddle. His feet hit the ground hard with the drop from his tall horse, but he didn't have time to care that his arches were hurting from his lack of riding boots. Link ran closer to the cave entrance, thinking that if the plant was injured then whoever or whatever took Talo could have been through here.

The faint glow of fire in the tunnel seemed more evidence of that, and it shone a dim light down on a familiar stick.

No.

Link rushed over to get a better look at the stick and saw that it was decorated with some scrap cloth and yarn on each end. It was definitely Talo's.

The teenager hurried through the tunnel, having to dodge a few aggressive Keese that flew for his face. It was unsettling to see the burned remains of a massive web, but Link didn't think twice on it because he could now hear the panicked sobs of a child.

"Talo!", Link hollered.

When he stepped out into a huge clearing, he was glad he'd shouted. Two blue skinned bokoblins turned their beady green eyes on him, moving their attention away from Talo and a monkey with a flower tucked behind its ear. It was on the ground several feet away from the monsters, waving around a set of keys in the air as if taunting them with it.

One of the monsters bared its ugly, crooked, black teeth and ran at the Hyrulian, but the other kept a firm grip on the ten-year-old's uneven hair while picking up a heavy rock to throw at the monkey.

Link thought he would be ready for the monsters now that he knew his way around a sword, but he was still as terrified as he had been five years ago. He had not seen a bokoblin since the attack on his village, and now one was charging towards him with an iron cleaver, its eyes wide open and angry. It was when it came close to four feet away from the blond that he drew his sword, and he blocked a heavy vertical blow with it just in time. Link rolled himself out of the way before a huge hand could hit him. Now on one knee at the ground, he used the position to his advantage by slashing hard into the back of the bokoblin's leg. It let out a chilling shriek of pain, falling to the ground.

Shouting loudly, Link swung his body around with his sword as he stood, and the extra momentum it gave him allowed him to leave a lethal blow that damaged the creature's spine.

He didn't let his eyes dwell on the startling amount of dark red blood leaving the monster, instead running fast for the other one. It had apparently landed a hit on the poor monkey, because the small primate had dropped the keys and now was holding its head. The bokoblin was still dragging crying Talo by his hair as it advanced towards the monkey and made a fast, trilling noise of aggression, but the mammal shook its head and ran, the sight of its body quickly lost amongst the thick branches of the Faron oaks. Before the black toothed beast could touch the set of keys on the ground, Link sent a two-inch-wide rock flying at its head.

"Drop him!", the young man snarled.

That wicked blue face snapped in his direction, but even as those gleaming green orbs targeted him, he managed to keep a confident fighting stance. Slashing his sword through the air in a challenge, Link yelled even more fiercely.

"Come on bastard!"

The bokoblin made another trilling noise and tossed Talo aside. The boy only moved to sit up, too terrified to think of running, and stared fearfully at the iron cleaver it lifted to attack the teenager with.

Link shouted and met the unrefined blade with his sword, but unlike the times he trained with Rusl, he struggled to overpower the bokoblin. It gnashed its ugly teeth just inches away from Link's face, and the Hyrulian was forced to swiftly back away. He came back with a vengeance however, swinging his sword in a halfway spin to the gut before the bokoblin could lift its heavy weapon again.

When it was over and he'd ripped his sword away from the fallen monster, the teenager was hanging on so tightly to the brown hilt that his knuckles were white, and he was taking heavy breaths that shook a little as they left his lungs. His stomach turned at the sight of the dead bokoblin, but he didn't think deeply about what had just happened. Instead, Link lifted his head sharply and tried to make out whether Talo had seen or not, and it frightened him to find the ten-year-old with his face buried in his small hands and head down close to his knees. He couldn't tell.

"Talo?"

His voice was still rough because of leftover adrenaline from the fight, but Link hoped the boy could catch the worry in his tone. The blond dropped his sword in the grass and hurried over, gently placing his hands at Talo's arms.

"Hey, you're okay", he offered softly in attempt to soothe the crying kid, "You're okay. I'm here, alright?"

"Th-they almost g-got me-", Talo sobbed, and Link felt his heart constrict.

"You're safe now."

The blue-eyed teenager scooped the child up into his arms as he heard Rusl's footsteps getting quickly louder, but looked down at the tug of a small hand on his shirt.

"P-please don't leave. I'm s-scared", the boy sniffled.

"Don't worry", Link muttered.

He began to walk slowly towards Rusl, away from the dead bokoblins.

"I'm staying."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Finally! This chapter took forever, and I'm so glad it's over! My thanks to anathemaofyggdrasil for being my beta, and thank you all for waiting patiently for that next update. Speaking of updates, they will be much more sporadic now since I need to focus on school. I love reading everyone's reviews. Stay tuned for chapter four!

P.S.: If any of you like FFXV, go check out anathemaofyggdrasil's profile. She has some kickass stories.


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